Freakonomics
Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: October 1, 2010 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
58
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 23 Critic Reviews
Positive:
11
Mixed:
11
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
A brisk and lively cinematic Cliff's Notes of the 2005 nonfiction bestseller that made the lofty promise to reveal "the hidden side of everything." Read full review
75
New York PostKyle Smith
An invigorating and surprising journey. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
Freakonomics is uneven, and even a little cloying, but its sum effect isn't bad. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Taken as a whole, Freakonomics feels almost like an extended episode of 60 Minutes with a lot of childish animation and some awkward connecting sequences. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
Freaknomics is breezy, but you can't help but think it belongs on TV, where the filmmakers would have gotten more time with their subjects and the tone mightn't seem so forced. Read full review
70
TimeRichard Corliss
Documentaries don't fly on figures, or even controversial arguments; they come to life with real, engaging people. And when this freakumentary hooks up with Urail King, it gets an A. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubTasha Robinson
Like the 2005 bestseller that inspired it, the movie version of Freakonomics is fleet and accessible, an enjoyably light and lively pop artifact aimed at bringing some unusual economic theories to the masses. Read full review
67
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
The film is provocative but also scattershot and not nearly as conclusive as it pretends to be. The almost complete absence of naysayers in any of the sections is a tip-off that the game is rigged. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Lots of ideas are tossed around in Freakonomics, and it often feels as though one is trapped in some kind of pop centrifuge. None of the authors' arguments is contested in any way, and the zippiness of the film paints everything with a Teflon sheen. Read full review
65
MovielineMichelle Orange
Best in show is the final chapter, by "Jesus Camp" directors Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing. "Can A Ninth Grader Be Bribed To Succeed?" is as straightforward a title as the others are oblique. Read full review
63
St. Louis Post-DispatchLoey LockerbyOct 22, 2010
It's intellectual snack food, satisfying for a little while but always leaving you hungry for more. Read full review
60
VarietyJohn Anderson
This frisky adaptation of the Steven Levitt-Stephen Dubner bestseller on human behavior by the numbers adds up to a revelatory trip into complex, innovative ideas and altered perspectives on how people think. Read full review
60
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
The end result is more like a supermarket on Saturday afternoon. The content is engaging, though. Read full review
60
NPRMark Jenkins
Freakonomics' commercial success reflected the once-fashionable notion that economics could explain, well, everything. Read full review
60
Time OutJoshua Rothkopf
Despite a roster of off-kilter documentarians each directing an episode, Freakonomics only partly delivers the sense of traipsing into uncharted territory. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Overall, these brief sections, which feature both authors on camera, come off more like self-congratulatory infomercials than they should. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
As a movie, Freakonomics is like Jujubes for the brain - it starts to get cloying halfway through the box. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterFrank Scheck
Like the source material, it's ultimately less than the sum of its parts -- an assemblage of moderately interesting human interest stories that don't carry much weight on the big screen. Read full review
50
Village VoiceDan Kois
A quartet of uneven TV pilots posing as a full-length documentary. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleAmy Biancolli
The movie as a whole is a mixed bag, offering up stiff shots of skepticism and a few provocative thoughts on correlation and causality. Read full review
50
The New York TimesStephen Holden
The jocular screen adaptation of the 2005 best seller "Freakonomics: a Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" is a shallow but diverting alternative to the book. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
From a consumer perspective, you're better off skipping the movie and putting your money toward their book instead. Read full review
38
Boston GlobeTy Burr
An attempt to turn the 2005 nonfiction bestseller into a high-energy docu-romp, Freakonomics is a misconceived botch. Read full review
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